Audio capture question

shroadster wrote on 4/2/2005, 9:10 AM
Hi,

I recently shot some footage with my camcorder and I was using a gun/zoom mic. When I played back the video through my television, the audio came through both channels. However when I captured the footage in Vegas, and dragged it onto the timeline, there was only one channel of audio, so I had to combine them. Is there a reason why only one channel was recorded in Vegas?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Comments

B.Verlik wrote on 4/2/2005, 8:45 PM
If the plug on your microphone only has one band around it (on the actual 1/4" shaft), it's only a mono mic. Mono signals are normally recorded on the left channel. Your TV probably automatically plays that mono signal through both channels. Most VCRs work the same way, you plug a mono signal into the VCR in the left channel and it transfers the sound to both left and right. If you have a mono mic, that's why you only see it in Vegas on one channel, but hear it on both when viewing on TV, from the camera.
A Stereo mic has 2 bands on the plug, just like a headphone plug does.
shroadster wrote on 4/2/2005, 8:54 PM
Oh ok, I was just making sure I wasn't doing something wrong when capturing.

Thanks for your help.
DelCallo wrote on 4/3/2005, 3:47 AM
GR8's reply is correct. Also, if you are connecting the mic via an "intelligent" hot shoe on the camcorder, it may still be a mono mic. I bought one of Sony's shotgun mics - don't remember what was on the package (whether stereo or mono), but was surprised when I shot some test footage to find that it was only picking up a mono signal. Turns out that it was a mono mic . . . duh!!

Not certain if they make a stereo shotgun - perhaps the terms are mutually exclusive - "stereo" and "shotgun".

I suppose I should buy two, mount them on tripods to either side of my cam. Oh, well.

Caruso
farss wrote on 4/3/2005, 4:05 AM
We have a stereo shotgun, very expensive and rather difficult to use, you do not want such a thing on a camera. Recording stereo sound is s bit trickier than it would seem to get right and you're far less likely to run into trouble recording mono.
shroadster wrote on 4/3/2005, 9:43 AM
Yeah it's hooked up via the "intelligent shoe". So are mono mics better than stereo?